EUSALP region focuses on hydrogen

Alps regions seek to collaborate to promote hydrogen technology in mobility. According to the state government, South Tyrol will likewise sign the declaration of intent.

The state of South Tyrol, together with eight other Alps regions and countries, seeks to promote renewable energy.

This should go place as part of the EUSALP EU plan for the Alpine area. A declaration of intent is being signed by the regions of Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes, Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur, Bourgogne Franche Comté, Lombardy, Piedmont, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, the province of Trento, and the Ministry for the Environment, Climate, and Energy of Baden-Württemberg, in addition to South Tyrol.

It reaffirms the areas’ shared, strong interest in speeding the energy transition in the Alpine region, and hence their desire to promote investment initiatives for hydrogen-based solutions, particularly for mobility-related objectives. The regions seek to share information and develop and implement cooperative projects together. The goal is to collaborate to develop solutions for hydrogen filling stations (HRS) along major routes and for heavy vehicles (buses, coaches, trucks, snow groomers, trains, and so on) while also supporting the “Green Hydrogen for the Alps” project.

In 2020, the state of South Tyrol approved a hydrogen master plan. Its execution is expected to reduce fossil fuel imports by roughly 550 million euros per year by 2030. This would result in a 45 percent reduction in CO2 emissions. The concept calls for converting the Brenner corridor into a “green corridor” with hydrogen filling stations along the way, as well as converting local passenger buses to ecologically friendly vehicles. These and other measures should help South Tyrol meet its climate goals by leveraging synergies between the energy and mobility industries.